Chapter 183: Chapter 183
It’s absolutely inappropriate.
How can a daughter-in-law let her mother-in-law assist her with bathing?
Jun Ning said, "It’s not proper, really not proper."
"What do you mean, madam?" Aunt Qi was upset. "Yi Yi, you call Ah Qin Uncle Qi, but you call me madam. Don’t you think you’re favoring one over the other?"
Aunt Qi puffed her cheeks and looked at Jun Ning with grievance.
If Jun Ning didn’t call her mother, obviously she wouldn’t let it go.
Jun Ning soaked in the water, looking at Aunt Qi’s expression, then glanced at her terrifyingly large belly, her mind and heart filled with one thought: "Speak kindly, can’t afford to offend a pregnant woman."
Forget it, if I can’t afford to offend, then I won’t.
Jun Ning obediently called, "Mother."
"Oh..." Aunt Qi responded joyously, then energetically helped Jun Ning start washing.
Jun Ning endured all over itching and discomfort, saying, "Mother, mother, gently please."
Aunt Qi had to lighten her grip, helping Jun Ning wash.
This bath was agonizing for Jun Ning, making her hate the mud clinging to her innocent body.
If it weren’t for this muddy body, she wouldn’t have been forcibly held down for a scrubbing.
Jun Ning: "Whimper, whimper..."
Jing Shu, on the other hand, was used to someone attending to her bath since young. She was quite adapted, cooperating throughout the bathing, and got cleaned afterward, smiling happily.
After a while, the little girl felt sleepy, and thus a servant carried her away to sleep.
Jun Ning, however, still wore a sullen face, not recovered from the unpleasant bathing.
Aunt Qi, feeling pity, brought the little girl to her room, heavily pregnant, personally retrieved her treasured snacks, offering them to the little girl to comfort her.
But the little girl, seeing these snacks, still appeared disinterested.
Aunt Qi could only console, "Yi Yi, don’t sulk, if you dislike others scrubbing you in the future, I won’t force you."
After a pause, she further explained, "This time it’s mainly because both you and Jing Shu were covered in mud. Had you washed yourselves, I’m afraid you wouldn’t have gotten clean, thus I asked around for help. Do you understand?"
She wasn’t sulking over the bath.
She... she suddenly missed the Emperor because of today’s bathing incident.
She thought about how, previously in the palace, she didn’t want others assisting her bath, the Emperor wouldn’t force her, letting her wash herself. When she couldn’t manage, then he’d send patient old maids to help.
The Emperor sincerely adored her, always accommodating her wishes, never coercing her.
But since the Emperor fainted, she hadn’t seen him. It had been a while now; she wondered if the Emperor’s health was better?
Jun Ning missed him dearly.
"Emperor..." Jun Ning called softly in her heart.
Her nose tingled, tears uncontrollably fell.
Aunt Qi saw, quickly helping the little girl wipe her tears. But for some reason, the more she wiped, the more they fell. She asked, distressed, "Yi Yi, what’s wrong? Why crying all of a sudden? Don’t cry, really, don’t cry, tell mother what’s wrong."
Jun Ning didn’t want to cry!
But, perhaps spoiled these recent months, she became easily teary.
"Come, let mother hug you, once mother hugs, you’ll speak out." Aunt Qi disregarded her cumbersome body, tried sitting beside Jun Ning, pulling her into her arms, wanting to hug her.
Jun Ning saw, startled, retreating cautiously to the bed’s corner, reminding, "Mother, your big belly..."
"It’s fine, he’s very well-behaved..." Aunt Qi rubbed her belly, "Never overly troublesome, occasionally just lightly moved."
Aunt Qi smiled, "Me hugging you now is fine, besides mother is merely embracing you, not having you sit on her belly, rest assured, it’s truly fine."
Jun Ning, half believing, moved closer to Aunt Qi, sat beside her, gently leaned into her embrace.
But still fearing colliding with Aunt Qi, she leaned cautiously, entirely supporting her own body weight, not placing any on Aunt Qi.
Yet, despite this precaution, Aunt Qi suddenly cried out.
"Ah...Ah..." Read complete versıon only at 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵
"What, what happened?" Jun Ning retreated far back, tense, asking, "Mother, what’s wrong? Your belly uncomfortable?"
Could it be labor starting?
The belly was so large, indeed seemed due soon!
The only possibility Jun Ning could think of was this.
However, Aunt Qi denied, "Yi Yi don’t worry, it’s not labor, but..." she pointed at her protruding belly, "the little guy inside suddenly kicked me, he kicked so hard, making mother’s belly feel a bit uncomfortable."
"Kicking your belly uncomfortably?"
What does this little fellow intend? Why did he kick Aunt Qi as she approached?
Does he dislike her closeness? Or maybe dislike her?
Either way, Jun Ning felt somewhat displeased.
No one likes being unliked.
She pointed at Aunt Qi’s belly, fiercely saying, "How dare you kick mother? Be cautious, once born, I’ll kick your rear."
Yi Yi spoke too adorably.
But, after Jun Ning’s words, the little one inside seemed to stop kicking.
Was it her words that frightened him?
Aunt Qi couldn’t help but wonder.
"Still uncomfortable, mother?"
"Not uncomfortable now." Aunt Qi shook her head, guiding Jun Ning’s hand to her belly, "Feel it, he stopped kicking."
With this little interlude, Jun Ning felt better, nibbling on the snacks Aunt Qi provided, while holding Aunt Qi’s hand, asking questions.
She was asking about, assuming the Prince Consort misbehaves, can she spank his bottom, when Qiong Hua’s prepared meal arrived.
Jun Ning happily ate the meal sent by mother’s servants, continuing chatting with Aunt Qi.
With days , eating meals mother sends from the palace, chatting with Aunt Qi, another month passed. The plague’s situation in the city slightly improved, no longer spreading wildly, nor hearing of daily deaths.
Now, as long as finding effective medicine, the plague could end entirely.
But useful medicine requires finding slowly.
During the plague’s medicine search, Aunt Qi entered labor.
This day, when Jun Ning was sleeping soundly at dawn, someone knocked on her room’s door, shouting loudly, "Princess Anle, Princess Anle, your Prince Consort is born..."